Misplaced
by o0CheckMate0o
Summary: Despite popular belief, there ARE multiple realities. Just ask Link. With a reluctant, inexperienced and pampered tag-along only interested in getting home, will our Hero never get to relax? Code Geass/Twilight Princess crossover. Set after the game.
1. Into a Fairy Tale Land

A/N: …Wow, it's just been so long since I've posted a story, or tried to write anything with actual chapters! I'm so not used to this.

Anyway, my sister asked me to write her a fanfic. "I want something with Link in it!" were pretty much my guidelines. She and I both know that currently I won't do anything that doesn't have Lelouch in it, and so a crossover was born. I actually have no idea where this story is meant to go. In fact I don't know if I'll be writing anymore for a while. It's more of a casual thing to help stimulate my writing gland. (Haha, I have a LuluSuza/SuzaLulu fic I still need to finish…)

This is mostly random, though probably not as humorous as I was originally going for. The "boy"'s name in this chapter isn't mentioned for a reason. If I get around to a second chapter you might find out why. I don't think there'll be any pairings n.n;

Oh yeah, disclaimer. I don't own either fandoms in this crossover, or the characters or anything.

Chapter One: Into a Fairy Tale Land

Perhaps he should have listened to the green-haired witch when she had gone on about this sort of thing.

Hadn't she mentioned it? Multiple realities existed like multiple threads creating a sweater, and on occasion they supposedly crossed and there were rips in the barriers that held them separate. Something like that. Of course it had seemed like pointless rambling to him at the time, and he had been trying to sleep…Instead of listening he had pulled a pillow over his head and snapped at her. In the end he had retained…pretty much nothing. He only remembered vague mentions of multiple realities and occasional crossings.

Basically he was downstream without a paddle, or a canoe, or…anything, for that matter.

All that he could remember was going through a day like he usually would, with the waking up and the coffee and the breakfast and the sleeping through classes. When he ditched gym he had decided to sneak off to his favorite spot for reading; the roof of the second year classroom building, but that's where things had decided to go…very wrong.

Book in hand, he had simply opened the door. That was all he had done. The moment the door finished a full one-eighty, everything went fuzzy and he felt sick to his stomach. There was an odd sensation, like every fiber of his being pulled in a very different direction, to the point where he believed he would be torn apart. Then he blacked out.

Things like that didn't just happen. But that didn't stop it from happening to him.

Now he was definitely not at school on top of a building. In fact he didn't believe he was in Japan at all for that matter, and there weren't even any buildings around as far as he could see. It was a vast green plain with spots of what he thought might have been a sort of road (at one point, at least) made of light gray stone, and the grass was dotted in places with ruins of a similar sort of stone. There wasn't anyone around. It was quiet besides birds and bugs, and the weather was gently warm with a fragrant breeze.

All in all it would have been rather pleasant and relaxing if he wasn't completely confused and on the verge of panicking. This place almost looked like some sort of fairy tale scenery in its untouched perfection, and had the air of something from older times…if that made any sense. It was just the feeling he got from it.

Japan had been around for a while but there weren't places like this anymore. Maybe he hadn't seen all of Japan, but it didn't feel like Japan. It didn't smell like Japan. It didn't sound like Japan! More so now that Japan was Area 11, and therefore thoroughly cultivated and "civilized". There would have at least been buildings within view, and that city smell would've taken over any country air still lingering. The boy was starting to get very unnerved and desperately tried to recall what his accomplice had told him about such odd things. But what if it was all a dream? That had to be it. He had heard talk of alternate realities coexisting and now his subconscious was exploring the idea in his sleep. There was definitely no way that such a thing could ever exist. There was only one reality. That reality was very mysterious and confusing, but there was only one! How could multiple realities even exist? They wouldn't be able to. One reality was complex enough already. It would be like trying to add files to a full hard drive. The ideas and make-up of a reality were too much for multiple ones to coexist.

…Right? That was it, wasn't it?

He was still in the black and gold uniform, lying in the short but cushion-like grass. The sky was bright blue and the sun shone just like the one he was familiar with, off on one side and threatening to blind him. Puffy white clouds occupied the vast expanse of blue in very sparse numbers with plenty of space between them. Everything was similar, and yet there was still that different feeling that occupied every partical of matter. A breeze rustled the grass and his hair alike, a very pleasant brush of invisible fingers that contained that oddly sweet hint to it. It was lovely and cool, but not chilly, and even now as he worried and threatened to work himself into a fit with his ridiculous tendency to over analyze everything, it was comforting. Even as, deep down, he knew that this wasn't a dream, he wanted to make himself believe it was true. Perhaps if he could believe such a thing strongly enough, it would be true. But he already understood very well that no matter how strongly you believe anything, the truth is cold and unchanging. Despite having this knowledge firmly lodged in his brain, he calmed some. If there was a way here there had to be a way back, he would convince himself. That much he could manage. There wasn't any use in getting so bent out of shape, anyway. He would just find a way back and then learn all he could about these coexisting realities so he could avoid this happening ever again. Fretting would only hinder his progress.

With those comforting his thoughts turned a tad sluggish and he found himself simply lounging like he would have done on the rooftop, provided he had actually made it to the rooftop. A shimmering golden beetle flew lazily by, its wings making a low humming noise. He thought the gold color to be odd, but it was pretty. Then he began to ponder the differences between golden bugs and the bugs he knew.

All in all he didn't know how much time he eventually wasted away on his back in the field. The sun was determinedly working its way across the sky and he could vaguely calculate the hours that had passed and what time it was, provided things worked the same way in…wherever he was. The logical side of his brain spoke up intelligently and reminded him that despite the pleasant weather, it would probably get cold once the sun set, and with no buildings in plain sight, he should get moving. It would be best to look for establishments and learn more about this place, but if he couldn't find anything before maybe an hour or two before nightfall, he would need to make a sort of camp. That wasn't his forte at all, so he would have to put most of his effort towards the former option. There were large mountains and cliffs around, so for all he knew there could be a place located behind them and he'd just need to follow a path that led through them. It seemed like a reasonable place to start, if there was actually an easy way to get through the mountains. If he had to climb, he would scrap that plan and come up with somewhere else to look.

The grass silenced most of his movements as he got to his feet and began to brush himself off. He straightened the blazer of his uniform and fixed his hair, although it was more out of habit than anything. There wasn't any real need to fix himself up to go tromping around some barren plain in search of civilization. Perhaps if he eventually found a civilization he would need to look a little less like he had been thrown here from a completely different reality (which he had, except that wasn't the point), but the actual searching part didn't require him to look…any way at all.

A terrible thought hit him and he shuddered in displeasure.

What if there weren't any people living in this reality? What if he searched and searched and walked until he couldn't take another step, and didn't find anyone? What if he didn't find anyone because there wasn't anyone to be found?

It wasn't as if he needed people to get back to his own reality, even if he had absolutely no idea how one was supposed to go about searching for another reality. But to be completely and utterly alone in this odd place without a clue of what he should be doing was a very terrifying thought. Not that he couldn't handle being alone. It was mainly the not knowing what to do part that scared him.

He shook his head to rid himself of the notion for now so he could focus on trying to find someone before jumping to such conclusions. Straightening his posture, he took the first step in the direction of the mountains he had been hoping hid his prize. Immediately he took notice of a sound that definitely wasn't that of the bugs or birds he had grown somewhat used to hearing in his few hours of idle pondering. In fact he could almost feel it in the ground as well, like something large moving towards him. As it grew closer the sound of something heavy near-galloping became more distinct.

When he turned, he was more confused than anything.

A group of huge boars were heaving themselves forward in his direction. They all looked the same: a dark brown color with huge tusks and hard eyes, and each of them was equipped with reins and a saddle that could've easily sat two or three people. For the most part that seemed to be the point.

The only word he could come up with to describe them was "troll", or perhaps "goblin". Each boar carried two or three of the lanky, ugly creatures with green skin and eyes that matched their steeds'. They seemed to be right out of the same fairy tale this world was from, a perfect rendition of the mythical creatures he had heard about in bedtime stories as a child. It appeared that they were also as cruel as the stories all mentioned, and despite the increasingly dangerous situation he half wondered to himself if the creatures hadn't actually been made up; what if the authors had had similar experiences themselves? But that could be pondered another time, when his life wasn't in potential danger. The things had spotted him and were headed right for him, so much so that he actually began to worry that they might try and run him over with the huge beasts. From far away the boars hadn't seemed that big, but as they drew closer and their hooves shook the ground with their weight, they were definitely at least as tall as he was. The goblin things were also armed, he noted, some with swords and some with bows and arrows. Although they brandished their weapons and jeered in odd sounds he couldn't make heads or tails of, they had yet to actually fire any arrows at him.

Eyes narrowing, he considered running for no more than a brief second. It was a stupid idea, as there wasn't any way he could outrun the boars, even if he had gotten started when they were far off. If they wanted to catch him they could easily do so on those charging animals, and if they didn't like that he was running, they could shoot him down. Seeing as he wasn't too keen on getting a sharp object lodged in any part of his body, he opted instead to stand his ground, feet planted firmly at hips' width apart, hands clenched into fists at his side, and a hard expression mirroring that of the foul creatures a challenge for them to dare approach him.

If anything it seemed to amuse them. They continued onwards, the distance between them rapidly closing until he could clearly hear the sounds they were making. It was impossible to tell if the sounds were actually words or merely gibberish, like a sort of battle cry. Goblins were stupid, weren't they? Maybe they only made noises like any other animal.

Instead of running him over they surrounded him, and the immense size of the boars was enough to easily close off any escape route, unless he wanted to try ducking under their huge bellies. But he didn't want to risk getting his head smashed under a deadly looking hoof. Both parties seemed to be sizing one another up, all of the beady eyes locked on him, and in turn his eyes were calmly and confidently locked on the ones in front of him. There was mostly silence apart from the loud breathing of the boars and a few noises from the goblins themselves.

At this close proximity he was able to discern more detail about them than he had ever wanted.

There was a foul stench about them, but he couldn't tell if it was from the boars or the goblins. In his opinion it was probably both. The goblins wore raggedy clothes, filthy garments that were very crude in form, some of which almost seemed to be an attempt at a sort of armor. It was difficult to tell anything about their plan of action or what they might have wanted from him. At the very least he could tell that they were indeed hostile and probably didn't want to invite him home for tea. However he also got the feeling that they were curious about him. Their ugly, oval-shaped heads were constantly in motion, turning this way and that as if to get a different view of him so that they might study him more thoroughly. All the while he refused to move and stood firmly, but not tensely, and regarded them with strong, defiant eyes. Nothing else happened for a good handful of minutes. In fact it was long enough for his anxiety to turn into something more like impatience, and he was considering trying to find out if his Geass would work on goblin things when one of them finally "spoke" to the group. Again he couldn't understand it, and wasn't even sure if it was actually speaking, but the others reacted as if it had been some sort of communication.

The one directly behind him grabbed the back of his uniform and hefted him up roughly with a surprising amount of strength, for the things almost seemed to be shorter than him. Even if he was startled, it only crossed his face for a fraction of a second, and he refrained from making a sound. There wasn't much of a point in struggling, even as revulsion wrung his stomach like a towel and threatened to make him throw up.

Instead of being merciful captors and simply letting him dangle off the side of the beast, they had placed him directly between the two goblins occupying the saddle.

He was sandwiched between disgusting, reeking bodies atop a very hard leather slab that couldn't have been more uncomfortable. In all honesty he thought that riding the animal bareback would have been more pleasant, and from his experience, bareback was definitely not when compared to a proper saddle.

For the first part of the ride he dealt with it all in silence, even the rough pokes the goblin behind him seemed incredibly interested in giving him every minute or so. The thing seemed even more curious now that he wasn't struggling or complaining, as he was sure every other captive of theirs had done. They seemed as if they did this sort of thing often. Grimly he wondered if they ate whatever they caught.

But it was nice to think that there were other people for them to catch.

Provided he would live long enough to find the other people they seemed so skilled in whisking off.

Even when he didn't breath from his nose, the stench seemed thick in the air itself, like a fog completely enveloping him and invading every orifice it could work its way into. Eventually he became so disgusted, uncomfortable, and irritated that he finally began to loudly demand things from them.

"What are you things?" His voice was haughty and loud, although the thumps of boar hooves on the grass still threatened to drown him out. The annoyance was thick in his tone, which seemed to amuse the one behind him as it gave him another hard poke in the side. This time he smacked away the claw-like hand and rubbed at the poor abused flesh through his clothes. He would definitely be surprised if he didn't have bruises. Although the one in front of him didn't respond, the one behind him made more of those sounds he figured was their way of talking. It was impossible to tell if it was angry, as their tone didn't change. To him they always sounded angry, but then again, German always sounded angry. The answer wasn't satisfactory.

"Where are you taking me? What do you want? This is incredibly uncomfortable, I'll have you know! Can you even understand what I'm saying?" The rapid fire questions continued, mostly because he was terribly frustrated, although it was also an attempt to distract himself from wanting to pass out.

It almost seemed like the one behind him gave a laugh of sorts, but it still didn't make any sounds he could actually understand. And so most of the rest of the trip was filled with his demands that went unheeded, only furtherly proving to rile him up, which meant an increase in volume and a more commanding tinge to his voice. Though their amusement lasted through much of it, they became annoyed as well. It probably would have been best for him to take a hint and shut up again, but he continued on and obtained the results he should have known would come of his actions.

Tired of having to deal with his blabbering and attitude, they vouched to shut him up for him, but in a much less pleasant way.

Stars exploded behind his eyes, coupled with the sharp pain in the back of his head. As everything faded and he slumped limply in the saddle, he still clearly understood that he had been hit with the handle of a sword. It was a degrading thought to lose consciousness to.


	2. An Unexpected Rescue

A/N: Okay, so I ended up forgetting that this thing even existed for the longest time XD but then some people (two, lawl) favorited it and I thought, "…oh, crap. I completely forgot about that story." So I found some time and finished it up. …this chapter. I'm pretty sure you should know who the two main characters are, but names will probably be divulged NEXT chapter. Once again I have no idea what I'm doing with this story, so try not to get too excited 8D;; sorry.

Beware of lameness and potential OOC. I'm not familiar with interpretations of Link's character. I apologize in advance :3;

I'd also like to thank the people that reviewed and favorited the story. I really appreciate it XD

Disclaimer thingy: I don't own Code Geass or The Legend of Zelda. I make no money off of this story. It's simply by a fan for the fans…namely my sister.

~*~*~

Chapter Two: An Unexpected Rescue

The town surrounding Hyrule castle had always been a busy place. Even in times of danger and fear, it was bustling and full of people – perhaps even more so because it was considered a safe place. Guards always wandered the streets in groups and the walls seemed impenetrable to those that had no knowledge of inhuman powers. Now, perhaps a month after peace had returned to the land, the population hadn't changed.

The center of the town seemed to be the preferred place of residents and visitors alike, as the circular centerpiece was surrounded by shops, and usually had a direct route to any of the other streets.

It was good to see so many people, the true capacity of the town that he hadn't gotten to witness in all his times coming here. No longer were there faces wrought with fear and suspicion. People were good when times were good, but unfortunately they struck out in times of danger in fear of their own safety. He liked it this way better.

Not that he was one to enjoy crowds, mind you.

In fact he had taken refuge from the crowds in the small bar off on one of the side roads of Castle Town. There were fond memories of this place (and some not so fond, of course) and the owner, Miss Telma, always greeted him with a smile. Often times she gave him plenty of things on the house, so why would he turn down free sustenance? Sure he had saved everyone, but that didn't mean that everyone knew it had been him. Most people passed him without a second thought, and most of them charged their savior full price for goods. Not that he would go around saying he was a hero or anything.

But being a hero still didn't pay very much.

A warm meal and some fresh milk seemed very welcoming right now as he sat at a table with his arms behind his head, leaned back and glancing up at the ceiling. It would come when she was available. Getting things for free usually meant you had to wait for the paying customers.

Of course, he wasn't impatient. All he had to do was quietly enter the building, offer a smile in response to a boisterous greeting, then have a seat off to the side where he wouldn't bother anyone. Eventually he would have more food than he could eat in front of him without having to say a word or offer up a single rupee. With a deal like that, he could be incredibly patient.

There were more people than he was used to in the bar, so it probably meant he'd be waiting a while. But he didn't need to rush anywhere. In fact he didn't have much of anything to do anyway.

After defeating Zant and Ganondorf, what was left for him to do? First of all he wanted to rest a bit.

It wasn't easy to save the realms of both light and twilight and bring peace to both sides. Shouldn't he have the chance to enjoy that peace for a while? Sure he'd probably become restless and bored, but he'd deal with that when it happened. For now he was going to lounge at the bar in Castle Town and take advantage of free food.

Someone stepped near him, and at first he thought it might've been Telma, either with his food or apologizing for being too busy to serve him today (the latter of which would have disappointed him greatly). Instead it was the postman, leaning in close and peering at him with those odd, beady eyes. They stared at each other like that for a few minutes before he started to lean away from the nameless fellow. In response he was presented with a letter. As soon as the man had come he was off again, leaving him blinking dumbly and holding the envelope, not quite convinced that it was safe to touch…

When he glanced around the bar to see how Telma was doing, it seemed she was still a long way away from delivering him from his hunger, so he decided he might as well open the letter now. It might distract him from the complaints his abdomen was voicing.

The envelope and paper were both plain and off-white, nothing fancy or important looking. The handwriting was neat and the message not very long, and at first he wondered if it was just a greeting from one of the people he had grown familiar with over his travels. Maybe one of them wanted to see him again. It was a nice thought, considering it felt like most of them had completely forgotten his existence in favor of running a business in the new prosperous times, or simply living out their life without worrying any longer. That was the problem of being a hero. People only needed him around when there was trouble. Pushing away his bout of melancholy, he focused on the letter in front of him.

"_We are eternally grateful for your incredible efforts in saving everyone. We can't possibly thank you enough. However we would like to request your assistance again, when you have the time. Come at your leisure."_

The name signed at the bottom was "Renado", the priest he had become familiar with in Kakariko Village. Renado was a good guy, although the hero looked a little exasperated as he rubbed the back of his head. For a moment or two longer he continued to simply fiddle with the letter, turning it over in his hands, gloved fingers brushing along the surface absently, as he silently considered his options. Even if he didn't exactly like only being called up to help out with problems, he couldn't ignore a request for help. It wasn't in his nature. He was beginning to believe that it wasn't always a good thing to be so eager to help people out all the time. What was the word for it…? Gullible?

And yet he still stood and tucked the letter into his tunic. With footsteps reflecting the silence of his entry, he carefully navigated his way through the crowded bar towards the door. He must have been crazy to choose travelling over one of Telma's free meals, but it seemed like she still had a while to get to him anyway.

Just as he reached the door she seemed to notice he was taking his leave. She was a shrewd gal though and didn't believe for a second that he had grown impatient with her. "You leavin' honey? Some business come up? At least let me give you something for the road." Telma tended to talk plenty, while he barely said much at all. It had worked out fine, as she ended up either answering her own questions directed at him, or went ahead and did what she pleased without waiting for a response. He didn't mind; she was nice. There wasn't much of a reason to respond, but he made sure to offer her a grateful smile when she handed him a handkerchief with the corners tied together in a knot and the rest bulging awkwardly with its load. She gave him a hug that would have crushed any man weaker than himself, then winked and laughed flirtatiously as she bustled off to tend to some drunkard.

Honestly he had no idea why they acted like drunkards; Miss Telma only sold milk at her bar.

~*~*~

Kakariko village wasn't exactly close to Hyrule Castle. Even with the help of his talented steed, it might take a few hours to get there. To many, the road would seem long and boring. It was a road he had traveled countless times in his movement back and forth between the town and city…and yet he still found himself easily able to enjoy it. There was something about being in the saddle on the strong back of his horse with the wind threatening to rip his hat right off his head. He was an adventurer through and through, it was a part of himself he couldn't be rid of even in these peaceful times. Maybe it had been hours – it probably had, actually, judging by the position of the sun – but it hadn't felt like it. After leading his horse into the village, he left her to drink by the light spirit's spring and went on to Renado's house.

It seemed he had come just in time for dinner. The priest offered him a smile and gestured for him to join them inside. While he had already made quick work of the bread and cheese packed into the handkerchief, he was definitely willing to accept more without much of a fuss, and he took a seat on the ground while bowls of stew were passed around. While he ate, his friend took the liberty of explaining the situation.

"Things have cleared up greatly since the end of your journey," he started in that deep, powerful voice. It was comforting, though, with undertones of friendliness. "But it would be foolish to expect everything to immediately clear up, and all on its own. There are still things that require attention, although their importance is not as dire." Thick lips pulled downwards in a gently sloping frown and he paused for a moment. They ate on in silence, although he didn't take his eyes off his friend. "A group of Bulblins still roam the fields outside this village. They torment my people and any travelers that are unlucky enough to run into them. It is rude of me to ask for your help after all you have done for us, but I implore you; no one else is able to truly get rid of them. Please help us again."

He listened quietly as he finished the remainder of his meal, feeling rather content and satisfied. The situation was quite the unpleasant one; he knew the ugly monsters were troublesome. They had fed him, so it was only proper that he help. Renado was also his friend, and he cared for the people of this village. He was the type that cared for people easily, and after helping them so many times before, he felt inclined to do it again.

It was a little backwards, wasn't it? Should he be tired of helping them after all he had done?

Sure he wanted some time for himself to rest, relax, and enjoy the peace, but no matter how he turned it about in his mind, he just wasn't annoyed at this new mission. It could be fun, too, and it would make the lives of many people that much better. In response to the dark-eyed gaze of his friend he nodded and smiled some. It was answer enough.

"Thank you, my friend. All of us thank you with the entirety of our being." And Renado did sound very grateful. Strangely enough that alone almost made it worth the effort. At least some people bothered to thank him. "It is late. The inn is surprisingly full in this time of prosperity, so you may spend the night here. In the morning you can go hunt them down."

Part of him said that it would be better to go at night when it was easier to sneak around and catch them off-guard, but those thoughts were brushed aside. How would he even be able to find them if he couldn't see? Nights out on the field were very dark, and if he brought a lantern with him, he'd be a sitting duck himself. In this case it would be best to go out in broad daylight, so he relented and allowed them to set up a spot for him to sleep. While he lay amongst the blankets they had put out for him, he peered up at nothing in the darkness of the house and listened to the sound of even breathing. He wasn't the type to think heavy, deep things. It wasn't in his nature to be particularly pensive. But he thought tonight. Most of his thoughts were all over the place, and he couldn't seem to properly get them in order, so they ended up not making much sense.

Then he finally started to wonder to himself, and it scared him even as it worked its way into his mind, "what's left for me after this?" Rounding up groups of monsters was important but grueling work. It was monotonous in comparison to saving the world, and he felt that it would be a waste of time. But if not that, then what else? "This world is so big, and there is so much in the universe, so many stars that lifetimes of counting wouldn't be able to record them all," he thought. "So there must be something out there, somewhere, waiting for me. I fulfilled one purpose, and now I must simply find my next. The only reason I feel like this is because becoming a hero was dropped into my lap. This time I have to search for it myself."

Those were the thoughts that accompanied him into a comfortable sleep, filled with dreams of what his next purpose might be, of where his next purpose might be found. They were exotic and unrealistic, but he rather enjoyed them.

He woke sometime in the morning and had breakfast with Renado and his daughter. As he himself wasn't much of a talker, Renado simply filled it with light talk of how the village had been. His silence didn't mean he wasn't interested, and by now anyone that knew him at all understood that fact. By looking into his eyes it was easy to spot his alertness and focus on what was being said. Occasionally he nodded or smiled – but he never missed a single word.

Afterwards he was pointed in a direction and sent off on his own, with his only company being his horse. He didn't mind that much, as it was easier to work alone. He didn't want to worry about protecting someone, or fretting over them getting hurt. Besides, his horse was great company and surprisingly intelligent. It wasn't too surprising to him, but other people tended to think so. There was a sort of silent communication between them as she trotted along, and it was partly obvious in the way he only needed the smallest of movements to direct her. The searching around was the most time consuming part, especially considering the fields were so big. But they were mostly flat, too, and there weren't many good areas for groups of Bulblins to set up base. Even his vast patience was beginning to feel worn when it reached midday and he still had no idea where the group might be. It was only then that he managed to find them.

There were many mountains and large rocks near Kakariko. A fair distance away from the village there was a strip of flat land between two such mountains, and here was the makeshift stronghold of the green monsters. It was crude, probably thanks to their wandering tendencies and the lack of readily available wood in the area. Dirty cloth was meant to hide them from view, but the shade wasn't quite the same as the rocks around them, so it wasn't too difficult to tell. Relieved, he unsheathed his sword and prepared himself.

A slight nudge was all his horse needed to send her flying in the target direction. The cloth ripped easily under assault from the sharp edge of his blade, the sound loud and profound in the silence of a lazy noon. What wasn't torn with his sword was kicked out of the way by powerful hoofs accompanied with a loud neigh. Past the entrance of the hideout was just as makeshift as the entrance itself. There were a few beds and some structures that might be considered tents, with dirty pots and pans lying around as well as discarded armor and other belongings that were more difficult to identify. In the center was a pit filled with charred wood, around which only a small handful of the creatures were sitting. They were obviously very startled by his entrance and scrambled to their feet with unintelligible noises. He took note of them, and how there were much fewer than there should have been. His immediate guess was that the others were out somewhere. Great, he'd have to hunt some more.

Most of the Bulblins tried to run from him, but some moved to swing crude blunt weapons. They were nothing compared to Zant and Ganondorf, and fell with a single clean sweep of his sword. His horse was faster than the stubby legs of the fleeing monsters and he made quick work of them as well. After surveying the area to make sure there weren't any more hiding, he sheathed his sword and was ready to nudge his horse on her way again.

However, his horse seemed to notice something that he didn't, and she refused to budge. It was quite unlike her and he began to wonder if she had gotten hurt somehow when she snorted and tossed her head. After a few pawing motions with a hoof, she took small, highly controlled steps forward, then craned her thick, well-muscled neck to bump her dark nose against…

…a shoe.

What on earth was a shoe doing there? He blinked multiple times in confusion before deciding to take the hint. Skillfully dismounting, he moved closer to inspect the shoe. It was unlike any he had ever seen before, pitch black in color and highly polished. After getting closer he was able to discern that it wasn't just a disembodied shoe, but it was attached to a thin leg, which in turn disappeared into one of the makeshift tents. By now he wasn't sure if he should be wary or curious, and he found that he was a bit of both. He stood up straight again and put one hand on his sword, then the other moved and ripped the flimsy fabric away to expose its contents. There was only some more fabric spread across the ground, and haphazardly resting across it was a boy. Or…well, he thought it was a boy. His clothing, his hair, even his skin were all different from what he was used to, and he stared dumbly for a few minutes before a nudge from his horse snapped him out of it. The boy's arms and legs had been bound and a makeshift gag was tied across his mouth. He looked unconscious and a bit roughed up, so it wasn't difficult to tell that he had been taken by the Bulblins.

With a frown, he slowly lowered himself into a squatting position. He simply stared at the unmoving boy for a good while, then finally decided to get on with it and slipped off one brown glove. With his hand bared, he hesitantly moved to press his fingers to the boy's neck in hopes of finding a pulse. It was probably unnecessary, but he felt he needed to make sure anyway. The boy just looked so pale…

But the very moment that his fingers brushed the (surprisingly soft) skin of that pale neck, he found himself staring directly into the strangest eyes he had ever seen on a human or hylian. They were a dark, hard purple, although slightly hazy from his previous lack of consciousness, but his gaze was firm nonetheless, and thin black eyebrows were narrowed into a warning glare. From that alone he could detect an air of stubborn defiance, and he quickly retracted his hand even if there was no way the bound boy could actually hurt him right now. He stayed frozen for a while, unable to look away, until it finally hit him that he should probably untie the gag so this boy could talk. Before he could move to do so, the crease in the boy's brow lightened, his eyes grew glazed and had a certain "far away" look, and his eyelids obscured some of that deep purple. A few seconds after and he had lost the struggle to remain conscious again and returned to being limp on the ground.


End file.
